WO2024062515A1

WO2024062515A1 - Elevator device

Info

Publication number: WO2024062515A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/034910
Authority: WO
Inventors: 雄哉池内
Original assignee: 三菱電機ビルソリューションズ株式会社
Priority date: 2022-09-20
Filing date: 2022-09-20
Publication date: 2024-03-28

Abstract

An elevator device (1) comprises a first beacon (11) installed in a landing (4), a second beacon (13) installed in a pit (10), a portable terminal (12) that can receive radio waves from the first beacon (11) and the second beacon (13), and a control device (9) that controls raising and lowering of an elevator car (7). The control device (9) restricts raising and lowering of the car (7) when the control device (9) has determined, from the radio wave intensity of the first beacon (11) and the radio wave intensity of the second beacon (13) in the portable terminal (12), that the portable terminal (12) is closer to the second beacon (13) than to the first beacon (11).

Description

elevator equipment

The present invention relates to an elevator device that detects the position of a maintenance inspection worker.

When performing maintenance and inspection of the elevator, switch the operation of the elevator car to maintenance mode and operate the car manually. During maintenance and inspection, workers may descend into the pit of the hoistway, and during inspection work in the pit, it is necessary to restrict the lifting and lowering of the car (prohibiting the operation of the car).

Patent Document 1 describes an elevator device in which a sensor is attached to the end of the landing threshold on the lowest floor and restricts the elevator movement of the car when it is detected that the landing door has moved from the fully closed position.

International Publication Number WO2021/075048 Publication

The elevator device of Patent Document 1 does not detect the presence of workers in the pit, so if the restriction on lifting and lowering the car is lifted while there are workers in the pit, the elevator device does not detect the presence of workers in the pit. cannot be detected. Therefore, it is necessary to detect the presence of a worker in the pit and more reliably restrict the elevator movement of the cage.

An object of the present invention is to provide an elevator device that can detect a worker in a pit and more reliably restrict the movement up and down of a car.

The elevator device of the present invention includes a first beacon installed in a landing, a second beacon installed in a pit, a mobile terminal capable of receiving radio waves from the first beacon and the second beacon, and a mobile terminal installed in an elevator car. and a control device that controls elevation. When the control device determines that the mobile terminal is closer to the second beacon than the first beacon based on the radio field strength of the first beacon and the radio field strength of the second beacon in the mobile terminal, the control device limits the raising and lowering of the car. Features.

Furthermore, the control device for the elevator apparatus of the present invention may be configured to restrict the elevator car from moving up and down even when the difference between the radio field intensity of the first beacon and the radio field intensity of the second beacon is within a predetermined value.

Furthermore, the elevator device of the present invention has means for detecting the opening/closing of the hall door, and the control device controls the radio wave intensity of the first beacon and the second beacon in the mobile terminal when the hall door is open. Regardless of the above, it may be configured to restrict the elevator car from moving up and down.

The elevator device of the present invention can more reliably restrict the elevator movement of the car by detecting the worker in the pit.

1 is an external view of an elevator apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a figure explaining operation of an elevator system of an embodiment of the present invention, and is a figure when a worker is in a hall. It is a figure explaining operation of the elevator system of an embodiment of the present invention, and is a figure when a worker is in a pit. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the elevator apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, showing the state when the hall door is open and an operator is present at the hall. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation of an elevator apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, showing the state when the landing door is open and an operator is in the pit. FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, specific shapes, directions, numerical values, etc. are illustrative to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and can be changed as appropriate according to usage, purpose, specifications, etc. Furthermore, it has been envisioned from the beginning that components of the embodiments and modifications described below will be selectively combined.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 shows an external view of an elevator device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The elevator device 1 mainly includes a hoistway 2, a machine room 3 provided above the top floor of the hoistway 2, a hoist 5 and a control device 9 installed in the machine room 3, and a hoist 5. The car 7 is suspended via a rope 6 and moves up and down within the hoistway 2. Further, the elevator device 1 includes a landing 4 and a landing door 8 on each floor. A hall operation panel 14 for calling the car 7 is installed in the hall 4. In FIG. 1, the landing operation panel 14 is shown only in the landing 4 on the lowest floor, but the landing 4 on each floor is also provided with the landing operation panel 14.

The control device 9 controls the operation, stopping, etc. of the car 7 of the elevator device 1. The control device 9 controls the raising and lowering of the car 7 by switching between normal operation of the car 7 (referred to as normal mode) and operation of the car 7 during maintenance and inspection (referred to as maintenance mode). The control device 9 is configured to switch the operation of the car 7 to a maintenance mode, for example, in response to an operator's operation of a maintenance controller (not shown). Further, the control device 9 may be configured to switch the operation of the car 7 to the maintenance mode when the car 7 is stopped at a location other than the lowest floor and the landing door 8 of the lowest floor is open.

The control device 9 is composed of a computer including a processor that operates according to a program, a memory, an input/output port, a storage section in which a control program, etc. are stored. Each function of the control device 9 can be realized, for example, by executing a control program stored in a storage section. The control device 9 is configured to be able to communicate with a mobile terminal 12, which will be described later.

A pit 10 is provided at the bottom of the hoistway 2. The pit 10 refers to the area from the floor of the lowest floor to the bottom of the hoistway 2. A safety device such as a buffer (not shown) is installed in the pit 10. At the time of maintenance inspection, a worker descends into the pit 10 and performs the work.

A worker working in the pit 10 carries a mobile terminal 12. The mobile terminal 12 is, for example, a smartphone, a tablet, or the like. However, the mobile terminal 12 may be any device as long as it has the function of receiving radio waves transmitted by beacons (first beacon 11, second beacon 13), which will be described later, and transmitting and receiving information to and from the control device 9.

The first beacon 11 is installed on the hall operation panel 14. As the first beacon 11 in the present invention, it is preferable to use a beacon included in a call registration system to be described later. By reusing a beacon included in an existing system, it is possible to easily configure an elevator device 1 that detects a worker in the pit 10 and restricts the raising and lowering of the car 7.

The second beacon 13 is installed in the pit 10. The second beacon 13 has a configuration unique to the elevator device 1 of the present invention.

The mobile terminal 12 is configured to receive radio waves from each of the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13 and detect the strength of the radio waves. The mobile terminal 12 transmits the received radio wave intensity to the control device 9.

Based on the radio field strength of the first beacon 11 and the radio field strength of the second beacon received from the mobile terminal 12, the control device 9 determines that when the radio field strength of the second beacon is higher than the radio field strength of the first beacon, the mobile terminal 12 It is determined that the second beacon 13 exists closer than the beacon 11. When the mobile terminal 12 is present near the second beacon, the control device 9 determines that the worker is in the pit 10 and restricts the elevator car 7 from moving up and down. On the other hand, when the radio field intensity of the first beacon 11 is higher than the radio field intensity of the second beacon, it is determined that the worker is not in the pit 10, and the control device 9 does not restrict the raising and lowering of the car 7.

<Regarding the first beacon installed on the hall operating panel>
Some elevator systems are equipped with a call registration system that automatically calls the elevator car.

The call registration system consists of a beacon that is installed at the elevator landing and transmits a radio signal, a mobile terminal that detects the beacon signal and transmits the registration information of the destination floor, and a system that receives the registration information sent from the mobile terminal. , and a control device for moving an elevator car. When an elevator user approaches an elevator landing carrying a mobile device with a dedicated application installed, it communicates with a beacon installed at the landing, calls the elevator car, and sends it to the destination floor set in advance in the application. The settings are automatically performed.

The elevator device 1 of the present invention can be configured to use a beacon included in a call registration system as the first beacon 11 installed in the hall 4. Thereby, equipment of an existing system can be used as the first beacon 11, and the elevator device 1 of the present invention can be easily configured.

The operation of the elevator device 1 of the first embodiment will be further described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. 2 shows the worker at the landing 4 on the lowest floor, and FIG. 3 shows the worker at the pit 10. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the landing door 8 is closed.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the worker is at the landing 4, it is before starting the inspection work or after the inspection work is finished, for example. Therefore, the control device 9 does not restrict the elevator car 7 from moving up and down. In this case, the worker can perform operations such as moving the basket 7 to a floor above the lowest floor for inspection work in the pit 10. After moving the car 7 to a floor other than the bottom floor, the landing door 8 of the landing 4 on the bottom floor is opened and the car descends to the pit 10.

In Figure 3, a worker descends into the pit 10. When a worker is inside the pit 10, the control device 9 restricts the raising and lowering of the cage 7 to prevent the cage 7 from moving, thereby ensuring the safety of the worker inside the pit 10.

The elevator device 1 of this embodiment restricts the elevator car 7 from moving up and down when there is a worker in the pit 10. A method for detecting a worker in the pit 10 will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the worker is at the landing 4, the first beacon 11 is located closer to the mobile terminal 12, so the radio wave intensity received by the mobile terminal 12 from the second beacon is higher than that of the second beacon. 1. The radio wave intensity from the beacon 11 increases. Therefore, when the radio field intensity of the first beacon is higher than the radio field intensity of the second beacon, it is possible to detect that the mobile terminal 12 is located at the landing 4. That is, it is possible to detect that the worker is in the hall 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the worker is in the pit 10, the second beacon is located closer to the mobile terminal 12, so the radio wave strength received by the mobile terminal 12 from the first beacon 11 is lower than that of the second beacon. The intensity of the radio waves from the second beacon 13 increases. Therefore, when the radio field intensity of the second beacon is higher than the radio field intensity of the first beacon, it is possible to detect that the mobile terminal 12 is inside the pit 10. That is, it is possible to detect that the worker is inside the pit 10.

The mobile terminal 12 receives radio waves from the first beacon 11 installed in the landing hall 4 and the second beacon 13 installed in the pit 10, and determines the radio wave intensity of the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13. The information is configured to be transmitted to the control device 9.

The control device 9 receives the radio field intensity of the first beacon 11 and the radio field intensity of the second beacon 13 from the mobile terminal 12. Based on the radio field strength of the first beacon 11 and the radio field strength of the second beacon in the mobile terminal, the control device 9 determines that if the radio field strength of the second beacon 13 is greater than the radio field strength of the first beacon, the mobile terminal 12 It is determined that the second beacon 13 is closer than the beacon 11. In this case, it is determined that the worker carrying the mobile terminal 12 is inside the pit 10, and the elevator car 7 is restricted from moving up and down.

On the other hand, if the radio field intensity of the first beacon 11 is higher than the radio field intensity of the second beacon 13, the control device 9 determines that the worker is not in the pit 10, and does not restrict the raising and lowering of the car 7. .

That is, in the elevator device 1 of this embodiment, the mobile terminal 12 selects the second beacon depending on which of the radio field strengths received by the mobile terminal 12 is greater, the radio field strength of the first beacon 11 or the radio field strength of the second beacon 13. It is possible to detect whether it is near the first beacon or the first beacon. That is, by determining the positional relationship between the mobile terminal 12, the first beacon 11, and the second beacon 13 based on the strength of the radio waves, it is determined whether the worker holding the mobile terminal 12 is inside the pit 10. be able to.

As described above, the elevator device 1 of this embodiment is capable of detecting a worker in the pit 10. When there is a worker in the pit 10, the safety of the worker is ensured by restricting the lifting and lowering of the cage 7.

In the case where the entry of a worker into the pit 10 is detected by opening and closing the landing door 8 as in the past, if the restriction on the lifting and lowering of the car 7 is lifted while there is a worker in the pit 10, the work in the pit 10 will be stopped again. could not be detected.

The elevator device 1 of the present embodiment constantly detects the radio wave intensities of the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13 using the mobile terminal 12 even when lifting restrictions on the car 7 are lifted while there is a worker in the pit 10. Therefore, it is possible to detect that the worker is inside the pit 10, and therefore, it is possible to restrict the movement up and down of the car 7.

Furthermore, instead of transmitting the radio field strength of the first beacon and the second beacon to the control device 9, the mobile terminal 12 transmits the difference between the radio field strength of the first beacon 11 and the radio field strength of the second beacon 13. It may be configured as follows.

As a result, for example, the control device 9 determines whether the radio waves of the first beacon or the second beacon are transmitted depending on the sign or negative of the difference in value radio field strength (=radio field strength of the first beacon - radio field strength of the second beacon) received from the mobile terminal 12. It is possible to judge whether the strength is large or not. Similarly, when the radio wave from the second beacon is strong, the control device 9 restricts the elevator car 7 from moving up and down, and operates to prevent the car 7 from moving.

Specifically, when the mobile terminal 12 transmits (radio wave strength of the first beacon) - (radio wave strength of the second beacon), if the received value is a negative value, the control device 9 determines that the radio wave strength of the second beacon is greater than the radio wave strength of the first beacon, and restricts the raising and lowering of the cage 7.

In the elevator apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the control device 9 determines the radio field intensity of the first beacon 11 and the radio field intensity of the second beacon 13. However, it is not limited whether the control device 9 or the mobile terminal 12 determines the radio field intensity of the first beacon 11 and the second beacon. The mobile terminal 12 may be configured to compare the radio field strength of the first beacon and the radio field strength of the second beacon, and transmit information about the beacon with the higher radio field strength to the control device 9.

The elevator device 1 of this embodiment determines whether or not a worker is in the pit 10 by identifying the positional relationship between the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13 of the mobile terminal 12 from the radio wave strength received by the mobile terminal 12. In other words, if the radio wave strength of the second beacon received by the mobile terminal 12 is greater than the radio wave strength of the first beacon, it is determined that the mobile terminal 12 is located near the second beacon, and that the worker is in the pit 10.

The elevator device 1 of this embodiment detects the radio wave intensity from the first beacon 11 installed at the landing 4 and the second beacon 13 installed in the pit 10 to identify the location of the worker, and restricts the ascent and descent of the car 7 when it determines that the worker is in the pit 10.

<Second embodiment>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the elevator apparatus 1 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the landing door 8 on the lowest floor is opened in order to start inspection work in the pit 10. Also in this embodiment, it is assumed that the car 7 is stopped at a location other than the lowest floor. The elevator device 1 of this embodiment includes an opening/closing detection means 15 for detecting opening/closing of the hall door 8. The opening/closing detection means 15 for the landing door 8 can be realized by an optical or radio wave sensor, switch, or the like.

When the worker is at the landing 4, it is considered that the radio wave intensity that the mobile terminal 12 receives from the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13 is higher for the first beacon 11. However, even in this case, it is preferable to restrict the elevator car 7 from moving up and down so that it does not move. That is, when the opening/closing detection means 15 detects that the landing door 8 on the lowest floor is open, the control device 9 adjusts the radio wave intensity of the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13 received by the mobile terminal 12. Regardless, the elevator car 7 is operated to restrict its movement up and down.

As described above, the mobile terminal 12 detects not only the strength of the radio waves received from the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13, but also whether the hall door 8 is open, and is configured to restrict the raising and lowering of the cage 7 when descending from the hall 4 to the pit 10, thereby further improving safety during maintenance and inspection work.

<Third embodiment>
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the elevator apparatus 1 according to still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows a case where the landing door 8 is opened while the worker is in the pit 10. In this case as well, it is preferable to restrict the elevator car 7 from moving up and down.

When the operator is in the pit 10 with the landing door 8 closed as shown in FIG. Therefore, it can be determined that the mobile terminal 12 is closer to the second beacon in the pit 10. However, when the landing door 8 is open, depending on the arrangement of the second beacon in the pit 10 and the position of the worker, the radio field intensity of the first beacon may become large, or the radio field intensity of the first beacon 11 and the second beacon may become large. There is a possibility that there is no big difference in the radio wave strength between the two beacons 13. In particular, when the worker is on the wall near the landing 4, the worker is located between the first beacon 11 and the second beacon 13, so the difference between the radio field strength of the first beacon 11 and the radio field strength of the second beacon 13 is small. It is possible that this will happen.

In this case, if the opening/closing detecting means 15 detects that the landing door 8 is open, regardless of the radio field strength of the first beacon and the radio field strength of the second beacon received by the mobile terminal 12, Operate to limit lifting/lowering.

When a worker is in the pit 10 and opens the landing door 8, it is conceivable that the worker finishes the inspection work in the pit 10 and climbs to the landing 4, or that the worker performs the work with the landing door 8 open. In either case, by restricting the elevator car 7 from moving up and down, safety can be further improved.

<Placement of second beacon>
In each of the first to third embodiments, the second beacon 13 was placed on the wall of the pit 10 on the opposite side of the landing door 8, but the placement of the second beacon 13 is not limited to the illustrated position. . The second beacon 13 may be placed on the wall of the pit 10 on the side where the landing door 8 is installed. With this arrangement, even when the worker is located in the pit 10 near the landing 4, the radio field intensity of the second beacon 13 is greater than that of the first beacon 11. Therefore, the presence of the worker in the pit 10 can be reliably detected. Further, the height at which the second beacon 13 is arranged in the pit 10 is preferably lower than the floor height of the landing 4 on the lowest floor. Since the first beacon 11 is placed on the landing operation panel 14 of the landing 4, by placing the second beacon 13 below the floor of the landing 4, it is placed at a height close to the worker in the pit 10. be done. Therefore, the radio wave intensity of the second beacon 13 can be made greater than the radio wave intensity of the first beacon 11 at the worker's position.

<Other embodiments>
In the third embodiment, when the landing door 8 is open, the radio wave intensity of the first beacon received by the mobile terminal 12 and the radio wave of the second beacon are determined depending on the arrangement of the second beacon 13 in the pit 10 and the position of the worker. This was a case where the strength was about the same. Furthermore, regardless of whether the landing door 8 is open or closed, depending on the arrangement of the second beacon in the pit 10 and the position of the worker, there may be a difference between the radio field strength of the first beacon and the second beacon received by the mobile terminal 12. may not be large. That is, this is a case where the difference in radio wave intensity received by the mobile terminal 12 is only a difference of the reception error.

In this case, it is difficult to specify the location of the mobile terminal 12 based on the strength of the radio waves received by the mobile terminal 12. Due to erroneous detection, there is a possibility that restrictions on the elevator car 7 will be lifted even though there is a worker in the pit 10. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable to limit the raising and lowering of the car 7, giving priority to safety. This eliminates the possibility of false detection and further improves safety.

As described above, if the difference between the radio field strength of the first beacon and the radio field strength of the second beacon is small and it is difficult to judge whether or not the worker is in the pit 10, the structure is configured to restrict the lifting and lowering of the car 7. This allows maintenance mode control with improved safety.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof, and it goes without saying that various changes and improvements can be made within the scope of the claims of the present application. .

1 elevator equipment, 2 hoistway, 3 machine room, 4 landing, 5 hoisting machine, 6 main rope, 7 car, 8 landing door, 9 control device, 10 pit, 11 first beacon, 12 mobile terminal, 13 second Beacon, 14 Hall operation panel, 15 Opening/closing detection means

Claims

The first beacon installed at the landing,
A second beacon installed in the pit,
a mobile terminal capable of receiving radio waves from the first beacon and the second beacon;
a control device that controls the raising and lowering of an elevator car;
Equipped with
When the control device determines that the mobile terminal is closer to the second beacon than the first beacon based on the radio field intensity of the first beacon and the radio field strength of the second beacon in the mobile terminal, the control device limit the lifting and lowering of
elevator equipment.
The control device limits the raising and lowering of the car even when the difference between the radio field intensity of the first beacon and the radio field strength of the second beacon is within a predetermined value.
The elevator device according to claim 1.
further comprising means for detecting opening/closing of the landing door,
The control device limits the raising and lowering of the car when the landing door is open, regardless of the radio wave intensity of the first beacon and the radio wave intensity of the second beacon in the mobile terminal.
The elevator device according to claim 1 or 2.